Schauffele and Rahm share lead in a star-heavy chase for Olympic gold in golf

Golf has finally generated some Olympic excitement with a lively and enthusiastic crowd, and the star power is evident as the men’s competition heads into its final round, with medals on the line.

Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm share the lead, just one stroke ahead of Tommy Fleetwood. Hideki Matsuyama managed to recover from a tumultuous day. Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy remain close enough that winning gold is still a possibility.

Seven of the top ten qualifiers for the Paris Games are within five shots of the lead.

“I’m very, very excited to play,” Fleetwood said. “The leaderboard is amazing. It’s like a leaderboard that you would expect at the Olympics and probably what the sport deserves.”

Schauffele felt he was struggling until he turned a two-shot deficit into a one-shot lead quickly. He hit a 4-iron to 25 feet for an eagle on the par-5 14th, just before Rahm three-putted for bogey on the hole ahead.

Rahm responded with a 35-foot birdie putt on the 17th green. The shifts in momentum were numerous, and the possibilities for Sunday were abundant.

Playing on a big stage for the last time this year before returning to LIV Golf, Rahm finished with a 5-under 66. Schauffele, who won the PGA Championship and British Open this year, started slow but posted a 32 on the back nine for a 68.

They both stand at 14-under 199, tying the 54-hole Olympic record Schauffele set when he won gold at the Tokyo Games.

“I’m slow out of the gates here,” Schauffele said. “Fumbled my first hurdle and had to try and steady the ship coming in.”

He paused with a smirk before adding, “Like the little Olympics reference there?”

Schauffele is aiming for another gold, which would cap off an extraordinary month of winning two majors.

The crowd was equally loud and enthusiastic in more pleasant weather. Fans have only been able to watch Olympic golf twice since its return to the program — Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and now in Paris, a city with a long history of hosting golf tournaments. The French Open dates back to 1906.

“It might have been new in golf but it is the Olympics,” Rahm said. “I think the crowd knows it is, and we are all aware of what’s at stake.”

Rahm also knows this isn’t just a two-man race.

Fleetwood, who started the third round tied with Schauffele and Matsuyama, made only three birdies but holed a crucial 6-foot par on the 18th. He shot a 69 and was one stroke behind.

Matsuyama recovered from a poor start with a 71 and was three strokes back along with Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard, who surged into contention with a 62. This tied the 18-hole record at Le Golf National, also matched by his twin brother, Rasmus, in the French Open. Identical twins, identical scores.

That caught Schauffele’s attention as he looked ahead to the medal round.

“Sixty-two, that was something up there on the leaderboard,” Schauffele said. “Didn’t really see that. Just going to try and keep touch. You need to be in position to win on that back nine and try and fall on some previous experience and get it done.”

Scheffler and McIlroy are both in medal contention, possibly even for gold. Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player and the most dominant golfer over the past two years, moved into contention with three birdies over six holes on the back nine.

He fell back with a poor chip on the 17th that led to a bogey. He was poised to lose another shot after a drive into a deep bunker on the 18th fairway forced him to lay up short of the water. But he hit a wedge to tap-in range to save par for a 67.

He was four shots behind, along with Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (66), South Korea’s Tom Kim (69), and Belgium’s Thomas Detry (69).

“I feel like I haven’t had my best stuff the last few days, but I’ve done enough to hang in there and stay in the tournament,” Scheffler said. “Around this course, you can get hot. You saw Nicolai had a really nice round today, and I’m going to need something like that tomorrow if I’m going to be holding a medal.”

McIlroy lost in a seven-man playoff for the bronze at the Tokyo Games and famously said he “never tried so hard to finish third.” Without a major win for ten years, he’s in a position for a medal, and the color depends on him and the five players ahead.

“I’m going to have to probably shoot my lowest round of the week to have a chance at a medal. That’s the goal,” McIlroy said.

The sport that typically moves slower than a marathon now turns into a sprint. Schauffele can appreciate that.